Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 5, 1990 TAG: 9003052197
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: EVENING/
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
When Gathers, one of college basketball's premier players, went down Sunday night in the first half of Loyola Marymount's West Coast Conference tournament game against Portland, his mother and aunt raced to his side.
One was screaming, the other crying.
Nothing else could be heard as the stunned crowd of about 3,000 at Gersten Pavilion sat in silence.
Gathers, one of only two NCAA Division I players to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding in the same season, collapsed at 5:14 p.m. PST. He was pronounced dead at nearby Daniel Freeman Marina Hospital at 6:55 p.m., hospital officials said.
Cardiologist Mason Weiss said cause of death was unknown and an autopsy would be performed.
"I thought the chances [to save him] were good," Weiss said. "We were unable to generate any activity."
It was the second time that Gathers had collapsed on a court this season.
"Mr. Gathers had a previous [heart rhythm] episode in December of 1989 which had been determined to be caused by a heart arrythmia, which was treated medically, and released to participate in all athletic events," Weiss said.
A 6-foot-7, 210-pound center from Philadelphia, Gathers was forecast as a first-round selection in this year's NBA draft. He passed up the draft following his junior season.
On Dec. 9 against Cal Santa Barbara, Gathers went to the foul line with 13:56 left in the second half, missed his first free throw, stepped away from the foul line and went down.
He underwent several days of tests in a local hospital and returned after missing two games.
Gathers passed those tests and began taking medication to regulate his heartbeat. Doctors suspected that an accelerated heartbeat may have led to the fainting spell on that occasion.
Gathers convinced doctors to cut back on his medication, after which he felt his body strength improving. He turned the corner in the first week in February when he scored 44 points against St. Mary's.
Gathers scored eight points before collapsing Sunday night. As a junior last season, he averaged 32.7 points and 13.7 rebounds, joining Xavier McDaniel of Wichita State (1984-85) as the only NCAA players to lead the nation in both categories.
Gathers averaged 28.8 points and 11.2 rebounds this season.
"Words are hard right now," Loyola coach Paul Westhead said in a statement. "This is the hardest thing I've experienced . . . to be so close to a player and see him fall and for it to be over. I feel a deep hurt for his family.
"As to the team, we stayed at Gersten Pavilion until we got the word. Then a number of the players came [to the hospital] because they wanted to be as close to him as they could."
Teammates Bo Kimble, Chris Knight and Tony Walker were at the hospital when Gathers' death was announced.
The WCC tournament was canceled and Loyola was declared the league champion by virtue of its 13-1 record in conference games.
The Lions receive the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament that goes to the conference champion. However, in light of what's happened, their season might be over.
A team meeting was scheduled for today, when it will be decided whether or not Loyola will accept the NCAA tournament bid.
"It's a tremendous loss for our university," Loyola Marymount athletic director Brian Quinn said. "He was an outstanding young man and athlete as well as a human being. We're going to miss him. He's done so many good things for all of us and we're all grateful to have been a friend of his."
Gathers gave the 22nd-ranked Lions a 25-13 lead with a thunderous slam dunk moments before collapsing near midcourt during a stoppage in play with 13:34 left in the first half of the WCC semifinal game.
Gathers struggled to his knees, but slumped over again. He was carried off the court about five minutes after he went down. Three doctors, two from Loyola Marymount, began working over him almost immediately.
"I first noticed that Hank was in trouble just as he went to the floor," Portland coach Larry Steele said after sending his players back to the team's hotel. "It all happened so fast. Within two seconds, everybody realized that Hank needed help."
Following Gathers' collapse, both teams were sent to their dressing rooms. Fifteen minutes after that, the crowd was told that the game was postponed.
Across the country in Albany, N.Y., Lionel Simmons of La Salle heard the news of his friend's death while playing against Siena.
Simmons broke down and wept on the La Salle bench and left the court.
Doug Overton, who played with Gathers at Philadelphia's Dobbins Tech, also was crying on the bench with a towel over his head.
"These kids were 3,000 miles apart, but they were very, very close," LaSalle coach Speedy Morris said. "When the semester ended the last couple of years, Hank would be at La Salle playing basketball with Lionel and Doug. They were just like brothers. They're taking it very, very badly."
Gathers and Kimble began their college careers at Southern Cal, where they were freshmen in the 1985-86 season. Both went to Dobbins Tech High in Philadelphia.
Both transferred to Loyola after Stan Morrison was fired as the Trojans' coach following that season and succeeded by George Raveling. Gathers averaged 8.3 points and 5.1 rebounds as a freshman.
After sitting out the 1986-87 season as required for a transfer student, Gathers averaged 22.2 points and 11.8 rebounds in 1987-88.
Last year, Gathers was a finalist for the John Wooden award as the nation's top player and a finalist for the Kodak Player of the Year award.
by CNB